Plot: What’s it about?
“Event” movies just aren’t what they used to be, are they? Long before the opening credits of Speed Racer graced our pre-Summer screens, we heard buzz that this would kick start the summer movie season. As time has shown it was actually Iron Man that gave rise to Hollywood’s biggest summer in history, but that’s not to say that Speed Racer wasn’t part of it. This was also a big step for Emile Hirsch, an up and coming actor who won critical acclaim for his role in Into the Wild. I enjoyed Hirsch in that and in Alpha Dog before that he’s got a big career in front of him. Add to this the fact that the duo behind The Matrix movies are helming their first movie in a decade and it should equal success, right? Right? Well, not so much…
Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is obsessed with racing always has been and most likely always will be. As a child, he idolizes his brother Rex (Scott Porter) who’s among the best. However as time marches on, Rex takes part in a controversial race that isolates him from the family and Mom (Susan Sarandon) and Pops (John Goodman) are none too happy with Rex’s decision. Rex dies in a tragic accident giving Speed the motivation to become a great racer as well. We see that Speed does eventually become all he’s meant to be and he catches the eye of corporate magnate Mr. Royalton (Roger Allam). Royalton offers Speed the world and a life of luxury if he signs on to become a racer, but Speed has values and declines the offer. Royalton’s ego is shattered and instead sets out to ruin Speed’s life and family (and not in that order). Speed must qualify for the “Grand Prix” race by winning another and he needs the help of one time nemesis Racer X (Matthew Fox) and Taejo Togokhan (Rain). Can speed qualify for the Grand Prix and expose Royalton as a hero or is all lost?
Speed Racer isn’t at all a bad movie, bear in mind that we’re getting the main plot from a campy 60’s Japanese cartoon and it all makes sense. The entire crew is here with Pops, Trixie (the lovely Christina Ricci who’s not used enough), Sparky (Kick Gurry) and even Sritle (Paulie Litt). I never even saw an episode of the show, so I can’t really comment on how authentic it was, but after watching a few of the featurettes it looks like they were pretty true to the original show. The real treat here are the special effects, which literally make the movie come alive. What the Wachowski Brothers did with The Matrix they were obviously trying to re-create here but the former movie had something this one did a good storyline. While the movie has its detractors, there are far worse out there and for what it’s worth, Speed Racer might actually be one of my guilty pleasures.
Video: How does it look?
To say that there’s a lot going on in Speed Racer is like saying that it’s a tad bit colorful. This is perhaps one of the most visually-stunning movies that I’ve ever seen and suffice it to say that it’s a veritable orgasm for the eyes. The 2.39:1 HEVC 4K transfer is lively and utilizes every color in the spectrum, focusing mainly on the magentas and blues. This movie was done so much in the digital domain that the colors are so manipulated it looks like a video game (oddly enough, included on disc two). I couldn’t really detect any flaws in the transfer at all and even if I could, I couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not. Suffice it to say that you’ll pretty much get what you ask for in terms of a sparkling transfer. If nothing else, this is one to demonstrate what 4K is really capable of.
Audio: How does it sound?
There are things in this world that make sense and there are things that make you scratch your head and say “what the hell?” The Blu-ray contained a Dolby Digital track, but that’s since been rectified with this new Dolby Atmos mix. Speed Racer is certainly one of the latter as it just doesn’t make sense. This movie is a perfect example of the technical marvels of what Blu-ray can do and as it stands, it will still be that way, just on the video side. The track isn’t wasted, either. It sounds fairly good and if I could go back in time a few years having not heard any uncompressed mixes, I’d probably hail this track as the end all be all of soundtracks. That said, it’s just not quite there in terms of what it could be. Dialogue is very crisp and the surrounds are almost constantly humming or doing something, what we’re lacking is the “oomph” that those uncompressed mixes contain. Again, I don’t see the logic in this but I just review what’s included and this is what’s there.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The film has become a cult classic and, as such, we’re treated to couple of newly-produced supplements. Also in the “where was this the first time around” category, we’ve got a few new supplements included though they were clearly made at the time of the film’s release.
- Fast/Future/Family – In this exclusive, the Wachowskis revisit the film’s joyful genesis, its dazzling craft, and its second life as a cult classic.
- Spritle in the Big Leagues! – We get a tour of the set and the various production departments, led by actor Paulie Litt, who plays Spritle.
- Speed Racer: Ramping Up! – This is one of the two features that was made for the 2008 release, but never saw the light of day until now. We get some cast and crew sound bytes as well as some behind the scenes footage.
- Speed Racer: Supercharged! – This is presented as if it’s a piece on the real World Racing League, and what it does is offer technical details about the twelve key teams and race cars seen in the movie, as well as the three major race tracks. Rotating models of each car, as the narrator explains its various features, are all shown.
- Speed Racer: Car-Fu Cinema – We get extensive background on the philosophy and approach to the film. There are also interviews of the technical folk involved in the effort. Additionally, we’ve got some concept artwork, previz video, wireframe animation, and layer-by-layer dissections of how the images were created.
- Speed Racer: Wonderful World of Racing, The Amazing Racer Family – The second of two that never saw the light of day until now is directed by Josh Oreck who makes this into a mockumentary. In essence, we see some cast and crew as well as “family members” as they regale us with tales about the Speed Racer family.
The Bottom Line
It’s safe to say that Speed Racer was both a critical and commercial failure. Warner was hoping that the Wachowski Brothers (well, at the time they were brothers) could reproduce lightning in a bottle similar to what they did with The Matrix films. That didn’t happen. But watching this film on 4K is what this was really meant for. What it lacks in substance it more than makes up for in style. Couple that with the addition of a Dolby Atmos track and some new (and recently uncovered) features makes this one worth picking up.
